Most of my flights this week have consisted strictly of landings. Here are a few tips and tricks on how I have mastered commercial landings. I am not a flight instructor by any means, this is just what has worked for me.
1. Soft Field Landings
When I finally I got the hang of soft field landings I realized it came down to my airspeed on final approach. In the operating manual for the 172L I fly, it recommends an airspeed of 65-75 mph on final. I was using 70 mph on final for most of my training and I just couldn't master the soft field landing. I would float excessively and it was hard to keep the airplane on the ground after touching down. Once I changed my airspeed to 65 mph, I was able to consistently make my softest landings. In addition, the soft field landing requires a little extra power while touching down. Personally, I do my soft field landings with full flaps. I like flying the 172L since it has 40 degrees of flaps instead of just 30. The 40 degrees of flaps makes me feel more comfortable since I have more wiggle room with the decrease in stall speed.
2. Short Field Landings
The breakthrough for my short field landings was realizing a stable approach was crucial. If your approaches vary from being high or low on the glideslope, landing on the same spot on the runway becomes much more difficult. This is why consistently being on the glideslope for each approach is key. If you are on the glideslope for each landing, you should land on the same spot every time once you pull out your power. Staying on glideslope comes down to pitching for the airspeed you want and using the power to stay to stay on glideslope. I like to put in my last notch of flaps on short final to steepen my descent for a 50 foot obstacle. Just like in my soft field landings, I like to land with full flaps for short fields too.
3. Power Off 180s
Ah, one of the most dreaded commercial landings. These are actually one of my favorite types of landings. I struggled with these landings a lot at first. The light bulb moment for me was using my flaps to help me descend on final approach. I have noticed that a lot of people don't like using full flaps on power off 180s. I use flaps to my advantage. I like to come in high on final since you will bust your checkride if you come in too low. Like I mentioned earlier, I like to pitch for my final approach airspeed (about 65-70 mph). I usually use power to make altitude corrections on final, however, this is not an option with power off 180s. I like to use 10 degrees of flaps on downwind once I pull out my power abeam my landing spot. Then I put in 20 degrees of flaps on base. Once I can tell on final that I have the runway made, I put in 40 degrees of flaps while pitching for my airspeed. This steepens my descent and I make my spot on the runway every time.
Like I said earlier, I am not a flight instructor. This is what works for me and I hope that I can help someone by sharing the small tricks that have helped me out with my landings.